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This case concerns a motion to stay court proceedings. The Plaintiff was a businessman from Victoria and the Defendant a Norwegian company. The representatives of the Defendant and Plaintiff entered into joint venture negotiations to establish a high speed ferry service between Vancouver and Victoria. Within this framework, a letter of intent was signed between the Defendant and a company controlled by the Plaintiff, which provided for an agreement to arbitrate in London in the case of disputes. The Plaintiff's claim against the Defendant is for breach of confidence and unjust enrichment. The Plaintiff had arranged for various stages and claims that the defendant has wrongfully refused to continue to deal with the Plaintiff still making use of the results achieved by the Plaintiff to establish the ferry line without compensating him. At issue was whether there was an enforceable arbitration agreement or whether termination of the contract included the arbitration clause.

The British Columbia Supreme Court held that the Defendant's wrongful refusal to continue to deal with the Plaintiff or its continued use of the efforts and results achieved by the Plaintiff to establish the ferry service without compensating the Plaintiff appeared to arise directly out of the contract between the parties that referred to arbitration. In addition, the court found that section 16 of the International Commercial Arbitration Act (MAL, article 16), accepted the principle of severability and that the contract being at an end had no effect on the continued validity of the arbitration clause.

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